Los Angeles, CA–A completely unscientific, not statistically significant observation about fathers and daughters:
My 10-year-old daughter has a friend who we’ll call Adrian. Adrian often comes over to the house on weekends or after school. Because I work out of my office in our guesthouse, when Adrian is here, usually I’m the one who is watching the kids.
Adrian does not have a father. She lives alone with her mother, who clearly loves her. Every time Adrian is here — every single time — she tells my daughter, “You are lucky you have a dad.” On several occasions she has said, “I wish I had a dad.”
My daughter and Adrian sometimes have arguments or disputes, and my daughter thinks that some of it is caused because Adrian is envious of my daughter’s “luck.”